New Home, New Life
by AMAZ1NG04
Summary: Emily Bolton had it all back in California. She had the perfect life. She had a perfect boyfriend. She got everything she wanted. The one thing she didn’t have was a father. Please Review! CHAPTER 5 POSTED!
1. Chapter 1

**AN: I'm adapting another story for HSM.**

**This one was never posted on – I don't know how old the HSM cast members are supposed to be…so for the sake of my story…they're 16…if anyone could fill me in on that…it would be very much appreciated.**

**For the first chapter…a little side note…I'd never been in a place where EVERYONE didn't have a Sweet 16. So, when I went to school in upstate New York it was a shocker. Anyway, I mention a candle ceremony. If you don't know what that is…it's a time in the party when you dedicate the 17 candles (one for good luck) on your cake to people who have had an influence in your life…and you play a special song and they come up and light the candle with you…except I just let them light it themselves cause I have an intense fear of fire…lol**

**Summary: Emily Bolton had it all back in California. She had the perfect life. She had a perfect boyfriend. She got everything she wanted. The one thing she didn't have was a father. Please Review!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own High School Musical. Disney Does. I really only own Emily Bolton.**

**So here it is…**

**New Home, New Life**

------------------------------

.Chapter 1.

Emily sat crying in her boyfriends arms at the funeral. She couldn't believe what had happened just a few days before. She wanted to go back in time and stop everything from taking place. That fateful day, July 9th.

_((Flashback: July 9, 2006))_

_Emily and her friends danced to the music at her Sweet 16._

"_Em! Come take a picture!" Emily's mother called. Emily ran over to them and posed with a group of her family members. They snapped the picture. _

_That was the last picture Emily had with her mother. "Emily…I just got a call from my boss." Emily's mother said. Emily and her mother lived together in a suburb of California. She worked for the government and was constantly leaving when Emily needed her. Emily had never met her father and her parents were never married. He had left them soon after Emily was born to take care of his first child that was born about 2 months before Emily to another woman. She knew he had married the other woman but she didn't think they had any more children. They lived in New Mexico, but she had never seen him._

"_Mom! You can't leave now!" Emily told her._

"_I'm sorry…it's my job…I have to go." She replied._

"_But Mom…This is my Sweet 16!" _

"_I know…And I'll be back…before your candle ceremony…I promise." _**(AN: If you don't know what a candle ceremony is…see Authors Note above )**

"_I don't want you to leave."_

"_I'm sorry Em." She gave her daughter a hug and walked out of the hall. Emily went back to her friends. _

_An hour and a half passed and she was starting her candle ceremony. Her mother still wasn't back yet. _

"_My first candle is for my mom. She has given me anything I ever wanted but yet has barely ever been there to watch me grow up." Emily started, throwing away her planned speech. "Her broken promises and lies are enough to last me a life time. So now I will light her candle after another one of her promises is left. The promise to be here for my Sweet 16" she said lighting the candle. She blew out the candle she used to light it and walked out of the hall leaving the one candle she lit burning. She sat on a chair outside the hall. Her boyfriend, Mark, came outside to find her. He looked over and saw her sitting in the chair in her glittery pink gown, her light brown hair done in an up-do and her once perfect make-up, now ruined by the tears streaming down from her sparkling green eyes. She saw him and wiped her eyes._

"_Hey Em." He said walking up to her._

"_Hi…" Emily said in a barely audible voice._

"_Are you okay?" He asked._

"_I don't know." She started. "I'm just tired of this…she's never there…you know…I never had my father… she's all I have…" _

"_You have to tell her that…You are a 16 year old girl. You need your mother there." _

"_I wish she knew that." _

"_Well…Everyone in that hall is waiting for you to come back and finish your candle ceremony. You have to go back." She looked up at him. He held her in his strong arms and they started to walk back inside._

"_Excuse me." They heard from behind them. _

"_Yes?" Emily said turning around to see 2 police officers standing there. _

"_Are you Emily Bolton?" One of them asked._

"_Yes." She responded with a confused tone. "Is there a problem?" _

"_We're afraid there's been an accident." _

"_What do you mean?"_

"_Your mother…Linda Reynolds…was killed in a car accident." _

"_No…You're lying."_

"_We're very sorry." _

"_Oh my god." Emily's knees suddenly gave out and she fell into Marks arms crying hysterically._

_((End flashback))_

Emily barely stopped crying for a week. She had stayed at her house packing all of her belongings and hadn't left before the funeral. Mark was the only one she spoke to.

A man dressed in a black suit walked up to Emily and Mark.

"Hello…" He said to her. She looked up at him, tears rolling down her cheeks.

"Hello…" She choked out.

"Emily?" He asked.

"Yes." She responded. He sighed

"Emily…I'm Jack…I'm your father." He told her. She stayed silent, staring at him.

------------------------------

**AN: Let me know what you think!**

**Reviews are very much appreciated!**


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: Thanks for the reviews, guys! I'm glad you like it!**

**There's a little bit of romance, a little bit of sadness in this chapter.**

**Hope you like it!**

------------------------------

.Chapter 2.

"_Emily…I'm Jack…I'm your father." He told her. She stayed silent, staring at him._ "Okay…I was wondering if I could talk to you for a minute or two…if it's okay with…" He trailed off.

"Mark…I'm Emily's boyfriend." Mark said shaking his hand.

"Nice to meet you." Jack said.

"You too." Mark replied.

"Can I have a minute with my daughter?" Jack asked with a begging look.

"Em…" Mark said looking at her. She turned to him. "I think you should talk to your father." He said. She nodded. He kissed her gently and she got up and walked away with Jack. They stayed silent for what seemed like forever walking to the door of the funeral parlor and outside.

"How are you?" Jack asked, breaking the silence as they sat on a bench outside. Emily stayed silent. "Don't feel like talking?" She said nothing and simply stared at the floor. "That's okay…there's plenty of time for talk. I just wanted to make sure you knew that you would be moving in with me and my family after today." Emily nodded. "So…after the funeral is over…I'll take you back to your house and you can get everything together before we leave." Emily barely looked at her father as he spoke. She nodded again, got up, and walked away from him. Jack sighed.

After the final family left the funeral parlor, Emily said her last goodbyes to her mother and left with her father. Emily went back to her home to finish her packing. Mark followed them to the house. Her mother's friend, Marie, came as well, to talk to Jack while Emily packed. Emily and Mark put the last few things away in her bag then looked around at her empty room.

"It's weird isn't it?" Emily said.

"What is?" Mark asked.

"I mean how drastically life could change in a minute." She responded. Mark looked around the room on the verge of tears.

"Em?"

"Hmm?"

"I'm gonna miss you so much."

"Listen…" She said turning to him. He looked at her. "We have to talk…everyday…and visit each other every chance we get." She told him. "I can't afford to lose you. I love you too much and I don't think my heart could take it." She swallowed choking back her tears. "We need to make this work."

"You'll never lose me." He responded. The tears began to fall from her eyes and a few from Mark's as well. "I love you Em." He held her in his arms and kissed the top of her head.

"You're the greatest thing that has ever happened to me." She told him.

He pulled away from the hug, his hands on her shoulders. He looked her in the eye. "Emily…You're the most amazing person I have ever met. Remember that. You'll pull through this like you pull through everything. You have an amazing spirit. That's what I love about you." He said. She smiled for the first time in days. "Are you ready?" Her smile faded.

"I'm going to miss you." She said. He kissed her lightly on the forehead. They grabbed her last few bags and left her room, bringing them to the living room. "I'm ready." She said in a barely audible voice. They loaded the last few bags into Jack's already full minivan and after a very tearful goodbye to Mark and Marie, Jack and Emily made the drive from her home in California to Jack's home in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

After arriving at her father's house and grabbing a few bags, They walked up to the door. The house was brown with white windows and appeared to have 2 floors and an attic. The grass was perfectly cut and the landscaping was very nicely done. There was a black bike leaning against the garage door and a car parked in the driveway. Jack unlocked the door and they walked in putting the bags down on the floor.

"I'll be right back." He told her. She nodded. He walked away.

Emily held her purse tightly as she looked around the house. She could hear the faint sound of music coming from upstairs. She saw pictures on the walls of a teenage boy. She assumed he was Jack's son. She found a family picture and looked at her father. A tear fell from her eye as she saw the happy expressions on all of their faces. She wished she could have been with her father all her life. She was interrupted by the sound of footsteps coming towards her. She quickly looked up and saw Jack and the mother from the picture walking towards her.

"This is my wife, Sarah." Jack said.

"Nice to meet you." She responded quietly forcing a smile.

"You too." Sarah said smiling.

"I'm gonna go get Troy." Jack said

Jack walked up the stairs to a door right at the top. He knocked. The music Emily had heard earlier got quieter. The door swung open to reveal a boy with brown hair and blue eyes.

"What's up?" The boy asked.

"She's here." Jack responded. His eyes widened as he followed his father down the stairs.

"This is my son, Troy." Jack started. "You two should be about the same age."

"Hey" Emily said.

"Hey" Troy responded.

"Well, Troy…Why don't you show Emily around the house while I go get the rest of her stuff." Jack said.

"Alright." Jack walked towards the door while Sarah walked towards the kitchen leaving Troy and Emily alone in silence. "You wanna see your room?" Troy asked breaking the silence.

"Sure." Emily said.

"Alright…come on." He grabbed some of her bags and led her upstairs and to a large room with pink walls, a large bay window, a full size bed with a mint green comforter, dressers, a desk, a bookshelf, and a door leading to a bathroom that connected her room with Troy's room. They put her suitcases in her room and Emily noticed a picture sitting on a dresser. She picked it up.

"My dad was going through old pictures and thought you would want that…It's him…and I guess…your mom?" Troy said.

"Yea…" Emily responded

"She's beautiful." Troy said. Emily held the picture as a tear fell from her eye. They fell silent.

"You wanna see the rest of the house?" Troy said breaking the silence again.

"Okay…" She put the picture down and followed Troy for a tour around the Bolton house.

------------------------------

**AN: This chapter was kind of boring. Hope you liked it!**

**Chadfanatik: If I make them not get along…it'd be very un-Troy-like…but don't worry I have the next like four chapters already written and there will be drama within the family. You'll just have to wait and see what happens!**

**I promise this story will get better…it kind of sucks right now.**

**Reviews are very much appreciated!**


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: Thanks for all the GREAT reviews! 3**

**I'd like to share that I went to the Aly & AJ/Jonas Brothers/B5 concert last night and it was great! Congratulations to Alyson Michalka for graduating high school one year early as Valedictorian yesterday!**

**This chapter has some family drama in it!**

------------------------------

.Chapter 3.

Troy and Emily were sitting in the living room talking. Jack came up to them.

"Hey Troy, can I steal Emily away for a little bit. I think we need to talk." He said.

"Yea…sure, Dad. I'll see you later Em." Troy replied before leaving the room. Jack took the seat that Troy was sitting in across from Emily. They sat there for what seemed like forever in silence.

"So…" Emily started.

"So…" Jack repeated.

"Can I ask you a question?" Emily asked.

"Shoot." Jack responded.

"Why didn't you ever come back?"

"I-I didn't want to leave my first child."

"But you'll leave your second."

"There's something you have to understand about me and your mother."

"What? She wasn't good enough for you?"

"Hey! That's not true." Jack said sharply.

"Okay…That's why I grew up without my father in my life, right?" Emily said with an attitude.

"Listen…I-" Jack started but Emily cut him off.

"No…tell it to someone who cares." Emily said, stood up, and walked away. Jack leaned back on his chair and sighed.

Emily walked up the stairs and to her room. Jack had brought all of her boxes and bags up already. She sat down next to a box and began pulling out many carefully wrapped picture frames. As she unwrapped each frame she placed it on the floor next to her. She pulled out about ten frames before she got to the last one. It was folded into a newspaper, the newspaper that told of her mother's accident. She bit her bottom lip before unfolding the paper. The frame was small and held the final picture of Emily and her mother before she left her Sweet 16. Emily held it and felt tears well up in her eyes. As she looked at the picture, she felt the tears fall, running down her face, and landing on the frame she was holding.

She heard a knock at her door. She quickly wiped away her tears.

"Come in." She choked out. The door opened to reveal Jack. "Oh…It's you."

"Listen-" He started.

"What do you want?" She asked. He sighed

"Okay this is how it's gonna work. I'm going to speak, and you're going to sit there and listen. Got it?" He said with authority.

"Fine." She said curtly. He sat down on her bed

"Alright…First of all I want to tell you that I loved your mother very much." She was about to interrupt but he gave her a warning look and she stayed silent. "I loved her more than anything, and I loved you more than anything when you were born as well. But…I always had that thought in the back of my mind, the thought about my first-born child and how I abandoned his mother and left her with nothing. This left me with a very important decision to make. It was either abandon Sarah and Troy with out much of anything, or leave your mother and you. Your mother is a work-a-holic, and I knew that she could provide the best life for you, maybe better than if I was around."

"That doesn't justify – " She started. Jack raised his hand to stop her.

"I know…In no way does that justify my leaving you and I knew that back when you were young as well. After leaving your mother I had this empty hole inside of me. Don't get me wrong, I love Sarah, but there was something missing in my life. About three years after I left, I realized that the 'something missing' was you."

"So why didn't you-"

"Call? I did actually. That's exactly what I did."

"I never-"

"Of course you never heard about the phone calls. Your mother would never tell you that your asshole Dad called to see how you were doing. I called your mother many times throughout the time you were growing up, just to check in and see what my little girl was up to, but your mother refused to let me see you, or even talk to you. She used to tell me all the time, 'You made the decision to leave. You were the one that was going to walk out on her.' I knew she was right, but I made it top priority to call at least once a month."

"Once a month? But why didn't she-"

"I guess she thought she was protecting you. She didn't want to set you, or herself, up for another letdown."

"But…Why didn't you just find me? Why didn't you try harder?"

"I tried as hard as I could…and…she was right. I made the decision to leave."

"So…what did Mom tell you?"

"Everything. She told me about your boyfriend…Mark…right?"

"Yea…"

"She told me about how you're doing in school…what your friends are like…she sent me your school picture every year…she sent me other pictures every time you changed anything about your appearance...she told me everything."

"Wow…"

"While we're on this topic…she told me she caught you smoking a few weeks ago." Emily looked away. "I want to lay down a few ground rules now…first of all, I better not ever catch you smoking or drinking alcohol."

"Mom used to let me drink with her."

"Well unfortunately, Mom isn't here. Secondly, your curfew is 11 o'clock on school nights and 1 o'clock on the weekends."

"A curfew?"

"Yes a curfew…I can't have you staying out till all hours of the night."

"Whatever." Emily said returning to her spiteful attitude.

"Lastly…In this family…we have certain expectations. We are respectful of each other…Sarah and I will not tolerate any attitude or any fighting between you and Troy. As far as chores are considered, the only thing absolutely required of you is that you must keep this room clean. Sarah can't stand a messy bedroom…" Jack told her.

"Is that all?" Emily asked

"Yes…well…I'll leave you to your unpacking." Jack said as he got up and walked out of the room. Emily went back to pulling things out of her duffel bag.

------------------------------

**AN: Ohhhh! Drama! Hope you liked it!**

**Let me know what you think!**

**Reviews are very much appreciated!**


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: So if you've been keeping up with my other story, "The Pain of Love," you know I have a plan for a new story. If not…it's called "Lost In A World Of Perfection" and it's about a girl named Bailey who has a famous family and is expected to be perfect. She meets Chad at a concert and he teaches her that no matter how un-perfect you may be to everyone in the world, to one person you may be the personification of perfection. It's a story about breaking the rules and risking it all for love (as corny as it sounds). Let me know if I should write it.**

**Thanks for all the reviews guys…this story is doing a million times better than I thought it would.**

**More drama in this chapter! Hope you like it!**

-----------------------------

.Chapter 4.

Emily had been unpacking for about a half-hour when she heard another knock at her door.

"Come in." She said. Troy stuck his head in the door.

"Need some help?" He asked.

"Not really…I've got it covered." She responded.

"Well…Want some company?" He asked. She laughed.

"Bored?"

"Kind of."

"I guess I could use some company."

"Cool." Troy sat down on her bed and watched as she sat on the floor re-folding her clothes and putting them in piles to put them away. She folded them perfectly and put them together according to color. "Perfectionist?" He asked.

"A little bit." She responded looking up. "So…Troy…what is there to do here in New Mexico?"

"Well…what did you do back home?"

"Not much…our nights mostly ended at a diner or bowling alley." (AN: Seriously…that's my town. We make big plans and then our nights always end up at a diner at one in the morning or bowling. Ohh how I love suburbia)

"Sounds like fun." Sarcasm was eminent in his voice.

"It was!"

"Whatever."

"But seriously…What do you do here?"

"I don't know…we just like hang out…we don't have any set routine."

"Okay…I have another question."

"Shoot."

"Got any hot friends?" She smiled.

"I'm not answering that."

"I'm just kidding…I have a boyfriend."

"A boyfriend…huh?"

"Yea…a boyfriend."

"Will he be making the trip out to Albuquerque any time soon?"

"I'm sure he will. He's 18 and he drives…without a parent or guardian. Plus he's probably way hotter than any of your friends."

"I wanna meet this kid."

"You meet me today and you're already being a protective brother."

"Damn straight. Can't have you dating any assholes."

"Whatever."

"How long have you been with this kid?"

"A year and a half."

"Wow! Long time."

"Yea…so how about you? Any girlfriends?"

"Eh…not so much…flying solo for a while."

"That's cool." Emily and Troy talked for about an hour while Emily unpacked.

When Troy left the room, Emily just had to unpack her laptop, stereo, and other electronics. She decided to get a drink before finishing. She walked down the stairs and to the kitchen. She felt a little uneasy about looking in their refrigerator. While it had become her new home, she still felt as though she was visiting a stranger's house. Troy walked in the kitchen as Emily was reaching for the handle to open the refrigerator. She quickly pulled her hand back, turning to Troy.

"Hey!" Emily said.

"Hey…" Troy responded shooting her a weird look. "What are you doing?"

"I wanted to get a drink."

"So…Why didn't you?"

"Because I felt like it would be rude to look in your refrigerator."

"Why?"

"Because it's your refrigerator."

"But…It's yours now, too." Troy said walking to the refrigerator. He opened it and pulled out two water bottles. "Do you mind water?"

"Anything's fine." Emily replied. Troy tossed her a bottle.

"You live here now. What once belonged to me and my parents, also belongs to you now." Troy said and walked out of the room leaving Emily, once again, alone in the kitchen. She smiled at Troy's last statement.

Emily was just about to go back up to her room when she heard her mother's name come from the dining room.

"Leave it to the _perfect_ Linda Reynolds to get herself killed and leave us with her kid." She heard. Her mood instantly dropped

"Sarah…all of your opinions of Linda don't matter anymore. All that matters is that Emily is here now and you or anyone else can't change that."

"Jack…She kept that child from you for 16 years."

"Yea…well…she had her reasons I suppose…but, like I said, nothing you say or do is going to change the fact that she's here." There was a short pause. "I'm going to get a drink. I'll be right back."

Emily walked out of the kitchen and went in a different door to the dining room waiting until after her father left the room. Sarah almost choked on her drink. Her eyes widened.

"How much did you hear?" She asked.

"Enough." Emily responded.

"Eavesdropping?"

"No just getting something from the kitchen." Emily held up her water bottle. "Listen…I get it…you don't like me. Whatever. I'm over it. But just to clear a few things up…my mother did not 'get herself killed.' I don't think anybody asks to be killed by a drunk driver…and even though she's not…I'm here now…and I'm not going anywhere." They stood there for a few minutes in silence. Jack walked in the room.

"Hey Em!" He said. She rolled her eyes and walked out of the room. She went up the stairs and locked herself in her room, slamming the door.

Sarah and Jack heard the door slam. Jack turned to Sarah.

"She heard everything, didn't she?" He asked her.

"Yup." She responded. He sank into a chair. "I have to go talk to her." He said, getting up. He left the room and walked up the stairs. He knocked lightly.

"Go away." Emily said from inside the room.

"Emily? Can't we talk?" He responded.

"No! Go away!" She exclaimed. He tried to turn the doorknob but she had locked herself in. Giving in, he walked back down the stairs. She was sitting on her bed, clutching her stuffed lion and looking both angry and upset.

'She doesn't want me here? Fine. I'll make myself invisible. I just wont come out.' Emily said to herself.

------------------------------

**AN: Hope you liked it!**

**Let me know what you think of the chapter and of my new idea!**

**Reviews are very much appreciated!**

**Oh! And for any Classical music fanatics like me…I highly recommend you listen to Giacomo Puccini's Nessun Dorma cause it is a gorgeous song. My high school orchestra played it 2 years ago and I remembered it being a beautiful song and I just heard it in Chasing Liberty and downloaded it. It's fantastic!**


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: So…believe it or not…zacefronsgirl1212's question gave me this HUGE idea…and as I let it play in my head, I realized that I knew where I wanted to go with this story cause I'll tell you now. I had no clue prior to her review. So thank you zacefronsgirl1212 for giving me a direction for my story. I greatly appreciate it! Haha! An answer to your question: there will be Troyella…but not for a while. And I'm realizing now that this story is gonna be pretty long…hope you don't mind!**

**Anyway…here's the deal…I have decided that instead of this story taking place the summer _after_ the movie, it's taking place the summer _before_ the movie. Therefore, Troy has not met Gabriella yet. I was gonna write a story about how the movie would go down if Troy had a sister. I guess this is going to become that story…hah.**

**Okay…now here's how it affects you. The author's note for this chapter was supposed to say…and here ends the part that I actually have written so it'll take longer to update. However, now that this story has a direction, I will be updating more than I thought I would…but not as much as I have for the first five chapters. I have to actually organize thoughts and write the rest. But as the story plays out…if you guys have any ideas they are greatly appreciated. I don't think I've ever started posting a story without knowing EXACTLY what was going to happen or having the whole thing already written. There's a first time for everything I suppose.**

**So…yea…I'm talking in circles now. End of long Author's Note. Hope you enjoy this chapter. It's kinda boring…sorry about that!**

------------------------------

.Chapter 5.

The next day, Troy sat in his room on the phone with his best friend, Chad. Chad and his other friends were supposed to be coming over later that day.

"So…are we gonna meet this sister of yours?" Chad asked.

"Probably not." Troy responded.

"Why not?"

"Because…she locked herself in her room last night and she wont come out."

"Why wont she come out?"

"Couldn't tell you…my parents wont tell me."

"Aren't your rooms connected though? Can't you just go through the bathroom?"

"I guess I could…but I don't really want to just walk in on her. That'd make a good impression…just walking into her room uninvited…she obviously doesn't want to see anyone."

"Then knock on the door. Maybe she'll come out."

"I don't know."

"Come on!"

"Why do you want to meet her so bad?"

"I just do."

"Whatever, man."

"Just knock on the door." Troy sighed.

"Okay…once I get off the phone…I'll knock on the door."

"I'll let you go then…but before I do. I have a quick question."

"What's that?"

"Is she hot?"

"I'm not answering that question. See you later, Chad."

"Fine…I'll see you later." Troy hung up the phone. He sat at his desk for a minute thinking of how he would approach Emily. He decided that he would force her out. He walked into the bathroom and locked the door to her room. The only ways to enter their bathroom is either go through Emily's room or go through Troy's room. He decided that she would have to come out eventually if she was locked out of the bathroom. Just as Troy expected, Emily knocked on his door about a half an hour later. He opened the door for her.

"Hey Emily…what's up?" Troy asked.

"Did you forget to unlock my bathroom door?" She asked.

"I don't know…Maybe…" He left the door way and Emily walked in a little bit. "Damnitt! I did. Sorry about that." He said as he unlocked the door.

"Thanks." She said.

"Hey…where've you been all day?" He asked.

"In my room."

"Antisocial?"

"No…Just angry."

"About what?"

"Your mother."

"What about my mother?"

"Nothing really…she just hates me."

"She does not."

"Ehh…Maybe not me exactly…but she hated my mother…and she doesn't want me here."

"My mother is incapable of hating people."

"Oh…she's definitely capable of hating people."

"How do you know this?"

"I heard her talking to…to…your dad."

"He's your dad too…you can call him 'Dad'"

"I know…I just never really had a dad…so it's weird."

"Sorry."

"What are you sorry about?"

"The reason you grew up without him is because he left you to take care of me."

"That's not your fault…It's his."

"I guess."

"Troy. Seriously. It isn't your fault."

"Yea. I know. Anyway, here's the deal. I have a bunch of friends coming over today and they all really want to meet you."

"I don't know."

"Come on. They don't bite." She laughed.

"Yea…well…" She stopped. "Wait a minute!"

"What?"

"You didn't forget to unlock the door!"

"What are you talking about?"

"You locked me out of the bathroom on purpose!"

"No…well…maybe…yea. I did. But it was only because everyone wants to meet you so bad." She rolled her eyes and smiled.

"Fine. I'll make an appearance while they're here."

"Cool. Thanks Em."

"I'm gonna go now. Oh! And Troy…try not to 'forget' to unlock the door again." They laughed.

"I'll try." As Emily stepped out of Troy's room, she saw her father standing in the hallway.

"Jack…" She said spitefully and walked to her room.

"Em. Can we talk?" He asked. She stopped with her hand on the doorknob.

"Fine." She responded. She opened her door and both walked into her room. "So what is it you wanted to talk about?"

"You know what I want to talk about. Sarah."

"I don't like her. Is there anything else?"

"Emily. Come on. She didn't mean for you to hear that."

"So that makes it right? She can say it as long as I don't hear it?"

"No. Listen. Your mother was always a touchy subject with her."

"I don't understand why…She won."

"What do you mean by that?"

"She got the guy. Why should she hate Mom so much?"

"I guess because your mom always made Sarah feel inferior. Linda had the perfect job. She made loads of money. She had a great relationship with you. Basically, she resented the fact that your mother could make it even after I left you guys."

"Good."

"What?"

"Good. She should resent it. I'm sorry if she expected my mother and I to have this terrible life after you left…but my mom worked her ass off to give us the best life possible. If she resents that, it's her problem."

"Emily--"

"Here's my question. Why did she even let me come here? I mean she obviously doesn't want me here. Why didn't she just tell you to throw me with one of my other family members? You know...or better yet, put me into foster care…my foster parents would probably love me more th--"

"Emily! That's enough!" He said sternly.

"I'm sorry. That was out of line." She said quietly.

"It certainly was! Listen…you're my daughter and I love you very much…and there is no one that loves you more than I do. And Sarah does want you here. She just doesn't know how to show it." He told her.

"Whatever."

He looked her in the eye. "Seriously."

--------------------------------

**AN: Ohh man! I'm watching Disney Channel and the "Start of Something New" music video is on now! Love it!**

**Well…hope you liked the chapter even though it was long and boring.**

**Let me know what you think!**

**Reviews are very much appreciated!**


End file.
